Intra-dialytic serum potassium changes among patients on maintenance hemodialysis thrice weekly

Objective: To determine the mean change in serum potassium levels before and after the maintenance haemodialysis session. Methodology : A Quasi experimental study was conducted at department of Nephrology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Lahore from 23-01-2025 to 22-04-2025. Total 110 patients were selected according to inclusion criteria.Age, gender, height, weight and comorbids were documented Serum potassium levels of MHD patients were checked before and just after the end of haemodialysis. The duration of dialysis was documented.All the data was entered in SPSS 27 and analyzed. Data will be entered and analysed in SPSS Version 28.0. Quantitative variables were presented as mean and standard deviation. Difference in the pre- and post- dialysis potassium levels was calculated. Qualitative variables were presented as frequency and percentage. Data was stratified for age, gender, comorbids and BMI. Post stratification, independent t test was applied, p value ?0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Mean duration of dialysis was 3.93 hours. Mean change in the potassium levels was 1.54±0.23 mmol/L. Mean change in potassium was compared between the groups based on age, BMI, gender and comorbs stratification, however, no statistically significant difference was observed (p>0.05). Paired t-test was applied for pre- and post-dialysis and the change was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Maintenance hemodialysis session of 4 hours can significantly reduce serum potassium levels and subsequently reducing the risk of arrythmias due to hyperkalemia in ESRD patients.